For the next two weeks, Davy dated a lot of girls. Davy always dated a lot of girls. But this was different. Now most nights he didn't come back to the pad at all.

Micky whistled. Mike shook his head. Peter felt miserable. It was like he had a waterballoon in his chest getting bigger and heavier every day. A couple of nights when he found it hard to sleep he even crawled into Davy's empty bed.

He tried really hard to understand what had gone wrong.

He didn't get it until they were sitting all four in this diner. Mike had been talking about it for ages. It was really cheap, but the food didn't make you sick (once you stayed away from the clams). Peter looked across at Davy and forgot what he wanted to order when the waitress came. He stared up at her. His mind was blank.

"Maybe you could come back to Pete," Davy said. He looked at Peter than smiled at the waitress. Later he called her over twice for extra napkins and more sauce. "She's nice," he said. When everyone agreed, he winked at Peter. Then when they were all finished, he sent Peter to pay the bill.

When Micky doubled back and asked her out, Davy didn't say anything. But Micky rolled his eyes and said, "What? I can't help it if she said yes. And Pete didn't even ask."

That night Davy came home. It was late, but Peter was still awake. He didn't say anything. He just watched Davy change for bed through cracked eyelids. Davy turned out the light and got into bed.

Peter thought about what happened at the diner. He threw back the covers and stood up.

"David. I want to...Can I talk to you?"

At first he didn't think Davy was going to answer. His words came out slow. "Yeah. Okay. What is it?"

Davy was turned on his side. He faced away from Peter. He waited, but Davy didn't move.

Peter pulled back the bedclothes and got in behind him. Then Davy tried to move. "What are you. Pete. No."

Peter put his arms around him. "Just for a minute. I just. I just want to talk."

Davy stopped trying to move but his body was tense. Peter stayed for a while stretching out the feeling of Davy in his arms as long as he could. Then Davy took a breath and shifted like he was going to pull away. Peter rested his forehead between Davy's shoulders. He whispered, "I've been thinking. Listen – I don't. I don't want to date any girls. Not now. But...That doesn't mean. I'm not saying you can't date them."

It was the only explanation he had for Davy's sudden change.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Just...we can go back to how things were. Not all the time," he said quickly. "Just. In between girls."

Davy jerked in his arms. But Peter tightened his grip. He kissed Davy's shoulder through his pajama top. "Just in between the girls," he insisted. "That's all."

Davy shook his head. "No," he said. "No. no. no. Peter. no." He kept shaking his head even when he struggled free and turned to him. "We can't. Not anymore."

"Why not?" Peter demanded.

"It just...That's not how it works." Davy sounded frustrated too.

"Well then you have to explain to me how it works. Because I don't understand it. Because before...before we couldn't have sex when I had a girlfriend. But then when I didn't have a girlfriend anymore, we still couldn't have sex. And I don't. I don't understand." There was a quiver in his voice.

"Pete...Peter. This thing...It's. It's something that happens – it's something you do in between girls."

"But I said" – Davy put his fingers on Peter's mouth so he couldn't answer back. "And it's okay to like it. But you can't – like it too much because it just causes problems. And you can't. You can't break up with girls just so you can keep doing it."

Peter looked down. "So you can like it, but not too much? I don't...I still don't get it."

His chest ached. He didn't think arguing with Davy was helping it. But he couldn't stop. He felt Davy's fingers on his chin, tipping it up.

"You don't want to get it, you mean."

He kept looking away. He wouldn't meet his eyes. He heard Davy sigh. Then out of nowhere he leaned in and kissed the corner of Peter's mouth. He told him, "You have to keep looking." He kissed Peter's chin. "Because one day," he kissed his cheek. "One day you're going to find a girl." He kissed his forehead. "And not just any girl." His other cheek. "The right girl for you. I promise."

The kisses were soft and brief. Finally he kissed Peter's mouth, but as soon as he tried to kiss back, Davy pulled away. "Then you'll get it," he told him with finality.